Peripatic musings on Mana Wynwood art exhibition

Hoping to find manageable crowds and great art, I took a professional day to explore mid-week, mid-day, in the shadows of the great Basel Art Fair. Our first stop was the Mana Wynwood convention center, a giant 140,000 square foot building with several curated collections to see.

Jorge Magyaroff

Our first impression of PINTA Miami (in Mana) was that it was still under construction, and possibly not open. But it was Thursday and even though some booths seemed under plastic, and men on ladders had drills working on the doors and scrapers finishing the floors, we were assured we could roam about. Focusing on Ibero-American art identities and issues, the show was full of strong abstract statements. Right away we were greeted by a giant in the art world, Brazillian Ernesto Neto with a scented nylon sculpture suspended to the ceiling and anchored by seductively curved sacks of sand and of cloves. In the Atrium Art gallery we enjoyed looking at award winning photography- my favorite was a documentary photographer from Chile, Tomas Munita. The clarity and detail in his prints was astounding, the mood was surreal, the topic was the landscape with man. I loved his Guano series. There were a few photo pieces by Vic Muniz from his garbage series and the movie documentary, Wasteland.

Vic Muniz

The Sleep of Reason by Barcellos

I enjoyed Bel Barcellos' whose embroidery I had seen on Saatchi art sites.  It was simple and a complex story. A gallery from Bogota had the drawings of Cuban artist Glexis Novoa. This time the graphite drawings were on drywall fragments cut and re-embedded into the walls. I think we first saw his work a couple weeks ago on the River walk downtown- drawings on marble encassed in thick glass and metal cases into the retaining walls of Brickell! I like the way he plays with material, setting a classically and sweetly rendered image into a raw format.

Glexis Novoa, pencil on drywall

I was humored by a large digital mural created b Cassio Vasconellos. The overhead perspective of a busy airport reminded me of my night dreams, as well as the Richard Scary illustrations full of busy workplaces that I enjoyed as a child.

In that vein, I was swept by the resin and suitcase sculptures by a Columbian artist L.F. Palaez in the Sextante Bogota gallery. They were little mini dioramas of a wasteland of sorts...

In the traveling mood, outside the galleries on the way to the next collection of work, we passed an incredible sculpture of excess- an F1 Eagle race car and collection of helmets all covered in class bead patterns!

The next major collection of work we visited was from Tiroche DeLeon, curated by Londoner Catherine Petitgas, "one of the worlds most respected collectors of Latin American art". I was delighted to find an art car by the twins "Os Gemos"...

The mixed media vehicle was controlled by musical instruments and filled with plush red heart shaped pillows and the giant mirror lined head held a collection of clocks. Such poetry to our ramblings through life! There was also a few subversive references to the Banana republic mentality of colonialism. Paolo Nazereth's sculpture from 2011 was on display... a minibus filled with bananas, conceived as he walked from Brazil to the USA.
As we started to feel our own feet...

The "Made in California:selections from the Frederick R. Weismann Art Foundation" was our next stop. The show of over 100 works of art highlighted the California sensitivity to light and their love of new 20th century materials such as epoxy, neon colors, duct tape, polaroids, etc... There were great optical treats by Larry bell, Robert Irwin, David Hockney and Ed Ruscha, among others. As a final stop before heading back to our car we stood in what I would call the sky room, with each of the 4 walls holding a long horizontal sky-scape by Ed Ruscha. His labels, somewhat functioning as a map marker, made us giggle. 

We went on to little Haiti, traveling past scorched earth to get there! More on that part of the day, later!

who is the artist here?

Student art show

We hosted our annual student juried art show tonight. The juror was professor Lucas Blanco, lucasblanco.com. He spent yesterday talking to several classes about his own work and leading them through a visual exercise. The show tonight was fairly well attended. About 100 works from almost 500 students was chosen to be represented. It was a very strong showing of hard work and talent.

The exhibition was held in the main dining room and we had to install it after the lunch clean up and take it down this evening so the room could be used for breakfast tomorrow morning.

Art on the left panel contains the award winners

Some of my pictures came out fairly blurry. And once the crowds of parents came I forgot to take any more. In nine days the semester will end and all my students will go on to other classes. I will miss them. They are really great kids- sweet, interesting, hard working, and fun. Hope to see them around the art rooms again in the future.

Watery City as a muse

Dr. George, the renowned historian, local author, Miami Dade professor, and fascinating story teller guided a boat tour through HistoryMiami from Bayfront out to Stiltsville. We got a perspective of the city from the coastline that layered all different eras on top of each other, and left us as breathless witnesses to the current transformation. The Brickel area buildings are rumored to be the densest outcropping of buildings anywhere in the USA. The open spaces all have cranes at work. Miami is skyrocketing up to the clouds at the edges of the water and creeping up the coast to the north. We saw where landfill from channel dredging for cruise ships has turned 3 acre islands into 120 acres, and where the earth scraped bare by Hurricane Andrew in the early nineties has been restored to a lush natural habitat.

The talk was fast and full of trivia and lore. He had us turning from side to side and riveted throughout the ride. I wish I had taken notes!
The seven Stiltsville homes are located in Biscayne National Park approximately one mile south of Cape Florida. These homes are the remaining structures of a community that dates back to the 1930’s. It started with a bait man selling bait out of a grounded vessel. Soon other grounded vessels were dragged out there and small businesses popped up to serve fishermen and recreational boaters... then additions of wooden structures to shelter the  vessels were built. Soon someone built a porch along his establishment to create a drinking club. In the 1950's The Bikini Club allowed free membership to women arriving in nothing but a bikini. Wild parties and lawlessness abounded. Today the Stiltsville Trust, a non-profit organization, manages public use and maintenance of the structures in accordance with a signed agreement with the National Park Service. I was surprised that only 7 of the maybe 30 at-one-time structures was still standing. One of the heirs, now called "caretakers" for the national park partnership, was on board and shared his experiences growing up with his family using the houses as recreational escapes (after the raciest of times were over). He spoke of how all the children had little skiffs and everyone was diving and snorkeling and at times it is so shallow you can stand.

The trip was inspiring and really got me to add a few more things to my Miami bucket list. I need to bike ride the backside of Key Biscayne, and experience a sailing trip leaving Miami way behind me.

heart collage

Best day: 7 hours in the studio! Here are some samples of my collaborative cockroach collages...

I patched in new prints on top of the areas the cockroaches ate away. It was fun, and added a bit of color.

Wynwood is a little thin on the magic this year

Took my annual bike ride through Wynwood to see all the pre-Basel artists at work on the streets. Last year this time the place was hopping. Not so, this year. There were a few artists at work, more women than before, but many walls were behind fences and being prepped for "live action painting parties". Some walls were out and out selling... directing you to a gallery down the road, or advertizing a new brand of Italian spray paint.

Selling his brand of paint

Tati Suarez, a local girl and PTS grad!

New restaurant shout-out

yea, that's how I feel

What is he doing?

What was striking was all the construction going on. There is building everywhere. Empty spaces are being refurbished, and new buildings are squeezing in between lots. Most of the cherry picker lifts were for the construction, not the painters! The (over) development is getting crazy. I hear rents have skyrocketed. Artists and galleries serious about making a living have moved away.

There is a woman painting behind that fence

Unfortunately, I got a roofing nail in my tire crossing Miami avenue., aka Tony Goldman Way.

Mural from years past

Old offering...we loved how the tree and the wall had the same palette, a blending of art/city/nature.